The Masquerade
by SpeedlesChic
Summary: 15 years have passed since he last killed. Now he's back in Miami killing again, and could be targeting someone close to Lt. Caine's team. Read along and find out. Enjoy!
1. Chapter 1

*** 4:30a.m. ***

He stood over the body of the woman he had just murdered. He had made his first kill again in over fifteen years. It felt so good; it felt so invigorating. Her body lay on the floor, blood still seeping out of from her wounds.

The smell of fresh blood hit his nose sending a tingle down his spine; it was intoxicating. His blood pressure was rising. He needed to kill again, but he must wait the time was not right.

He wanted to linger in the house a little longer, but knew he had to leave. The woman's boyfriend would be arriving soon, but before leaving he plucked out a black Masquerade mask from his coat pocket. He placed it gently over her face as to not disturb any of his work then quietly left. He was like a phantom in the night.

Before heading home he made a pit stop at one of his next victim's house when he noticed the bedroom light was on; it was 6:00a.m.

He watched her every move; her daily routine was simple. She'd wake up at six in the morning, and put on a pot of coffee for herself and her husband; they drank French Vanilla flavored coffee. After cleaning up her mess in the kitchen she would head back into her room and wake her husband with sweet soft kisses. He could see her husband loved when she did that every morning. After her sweet soft kisses they would hop in the shower and make love.

Upon hearing the garage door open to their house he knew it was time to leave. 'I must wait a little longer for her. She's not ready to be taken yet,' he said to himself and drove off to his place. His day job was about to start.


	2. Chapter 2

Red, white, and blue lights flashed from police cars, C.S.I. hummers, and an EMS vehicle that had been parked outside the home of homicide victim, Felicia Graham. Lt. Horatio Caine and his team of CSIs - Tim Speedle, Calleigh Duquesne, and Eric Delko - ducked under the crime scene tape, and made their way over to the waiting homicide detective, Frank Tripp. The woman's boyfriend stood out in the driveway; he was distraught. "Frank," Lt. Horatio Caine said carefully removing his trademark sunglasses.

"Horatio," Frank said. "It's pretty gruesome in there. Victim's name is, Felicia Graham. Twenty-five years young. Her boyfriend is over there," Frank pointed to the man standing in the driveway, his name was Kevin Brooks, and then continued, "Found her around six this morning. They were supposed to be going on a Hawaiian vacation. He also said he was going to ask her to marry him. The trip was for their five year anniversary." The homicide detective stopped talking when Speed dropped his notepad on the ground. He quickly apologized and picked it up. Calleigh then noticed Speedle playing with his wedding ring; he became slightly nervous. Today was his and his wife, Lauren Speedle's fifth year wedding anniversary. "Alexx is already in there waiting."

"Thank you Frank. Keep me posted on any new information you find," Horatio said heading into the house.

Eric turned to his colleague and friend and said, "Speed, what was that about? Long night last night with the Mrs. or what?"

Speed looked at Eric with a disgusted expression. "What Lauren and I do together is none of your business, and it just fell out of my hand, alright," Speed snapped back.

"Gentlemen," was all Horatio said once he spotted Dr. Alexx Woods, Miami-Dade's top Medical Examiner. She loved talking to the dead; it was her signature. "Alexx, what happened here?" The state of Felicia's body was gruesome, Frank was right.

"Well, Horatio… this poor baby's throat was cut open, and it looks like her vocal cords have been removed." Speed's stomach started to churn with the uneasy feeling again. Alexx took notice. "You okay, Timmy?"

"Yeah, I'm fine Alexx. What else did you find?" Both Horatio and Calleigh looked at Speed with much concern.

"Well it looks like she's been stabbed twice in her lower abdomen. One on the left and one on the right. Looks to me like the stabbing was planned or had some meaning behind it. The killer stabbed this poor girl right through her ovaries. But I'll no more after the post, and this mask was left on her face. It looks like a masquerade mask. That's interesting." Horatio stood back with his hand on his hips, and his head cocked to the side. This seemed familiar to him, but he couldn't put his finger on it. For now he kept his thoughts to himself.

"Thank you Alexx. Speed and Calleigh process the areas surrounding the body. Eric, look around the house and see if you can find anything else out about our victim. I'll be back in a little while. If you finish before I get back let me know." Everyone responded except Speed. "Speed, you alright?" He had been looking at Felicia's dead body.

"Uh yeah, sorry, H. I'm fine. I was just thinking, and yes I'll let you know if we finish before you can get back here." Why this murder made him feel uneasy, he didn't know.

"You want to share your thoughts with us?" Horatio asked.

Speed cleared his throat. "Not at the moment, no."

"Okay, keep me posted." Horatio exited the house with Alexx and the body haulers close behind him.

Once Calleigh and Speed were alone she turned to him and smiled. "Happy anniversary, Tim! Five years now?" she said.

Speed looked at Calleigh and smiled back at her. "Thanks Calleigh and yeah five years," he said and then went back to searching for evidence. He smiled to himself at the thought of his wife.

Speed and Lauren had met back in New York, his home state, at Columbia University; Lauren's home state was Michigan. Lauren had been a freshman and Speed a junior. She had been a music and art history major while he had been a biology major.

Speed remembered that day like it was yesterday. He remembered what she looked like and what she was wearing. It had been Mid-December, right before the semester was about to end. Finals were taking place, and the school library was filled. Seats were incredibly hard to come by. Students were studying in groups; students were studying alone with flashcards; students were writing their final papers and finishing up their projects.

Speed had been sitting at a table near the back by some floor to ceiling windows studying for his advanced placement biology class. Speed had seen her when she had walked in. Lauren's dark brown hair had been in a loose messy ponytail; she had on a pair of navy blue Columbia University baggy sweatpants, a navy blue hooded sweatshirt, some slip on snow boats, and an orange scarf wrapped around her neck. The word, he thought, that described her at that moment had been adorable.

Lauren had weaved her way through the crammed library; she had noticed there hadn't been any seats available. Speed had seen the frustration on her face. At the time he felt adventurous and asked her if she wanted to sit with him; she had agreed.

During the first couple minutes of them meeting he had seen tears roll down her cheeks. He knew it wasn't his business, but he had asked anyway. He had come to find out Lauren had been stressed out about her biology exam. She had explained to him she was a music and art history major, and taking a biology class should have been banned.

After her little speech, he explained that he was a biology major and offered his help to her. Lauren had practically jumped in his arms. In fact she had even kissed him on the cheek. Lauren and Speed were in the library until it had to shut down for the night. They exchanged phone numbers in case she had any other questions. After that the rest was history.

"Are you two doing anything special tonight?" Calleigh asked searching the kitchen for evidence.

"Lauren said she didn't want anything, but I got two tickets to see The Phantom of The Opera tonight at the Miami-Dade Entertainment Center. It's something she's wanted for a long time. I could tell she wanted to ask for them," Speed said not finding anything of interest in the area he had been examining.

"Aww, that's so sweet, Tim. Anything else?"

Speed smile. "Actually, I got her a ring, and I'm taking her out to a late dinner after the play."

"Oh my gosh, Tim! You're a great husband. Lauren is so lucky to have you," she said smiling from ear to ear.

"No, I'm the lucky one," he said with a smile.

Just then, Eric came walking into the kitchen with a couple evidence bags in hand. "Hey guys, I didn't find much, but I noticed our victim was into music and voice training. I got a list of her clients we can contact. I saw she attended Juilliard. I found her student loan bills and her degree in her office," Eric stated. "She must have been amazing if she attended that school. You guys find anything?"

Speed sighed. "No not really. Some smudged prints I recovered, but other than that the place is clean. I think we should go back to the lab and see what we can come up with, with the client list. Maybe we can find out if any of her clients have a grudge against her," Speed said casually.

"Sounds good," Calleigh said. The three collected everything they had brought to and retrieved from the scene and headed the hummers.

Speed sent a quick text to Horatio saying they had left the crime scene.


	3. Chapter 3

Lauren Speedle, wife of Tim Speedle, began to tidy up her desk before leaving work. She was the music and theater teacher at Miami-Dade High School. She loved her job, of two years, and wouldn't trade it for anything. The students were wonderful and treated her with the respect she and the rest of the teachers deserved.

A soft knock sounded at the back of her class room. Lauren looked up and saw her fellow music teacher, Richard Dorfman. "Hello Richard. How were your classes today?" Lauren asked cheerfully. "I was going to stop by before classes started, but I saw a big group of kids in your room… like always."

Richard was a popular teacher at Miami-Dade High School. Every student who took his classes loved him. Even non-music lovers would take a class or two to see what their friends were talking about. Richard was incredibly passionate about the arts.

"Oh yes, I saw you. I waved, but you mustn't have seen me." He paused a moment and then remember she had asked him about his classes. "My classes are wonderful as usual. I have a few rowdy students, but other than that I think this will be a wonderful semester."

Lauren smiled. "Well that's good." Just then, her cell phone rang. She picked it up expecting it to be, Speed. She scrunched up her face when she noticed it was her mother. "I have to get this Richard, sorry." Lauren got up and exited to the room. "Mother, what do you want? I'm at work," she said somewhat annoyed.

"I know. But I just had to catch you before you left. I wanted to take you and Tim out for lunch, an anniversary lunch… that's if you didn't have plans already," her mother, Leslie Brooks said.

Lauren sighed. "Yeah mom we kind of had plans. Tim is going to take me out for lunch. He's working today."

"What about dinner?" her mother pressed on.

"Mom, I already told you we have plans. Tim is taking me out for lunch at Casa Tua, and I'm cooking him a romantic dinner. So I'm sorry not tonight. Maybe this weekend or something now that school has started." Her mother was silent. "Mom? You there?"

"Oh! Yes sorry honey. Your father asked me a question… Okay then maybe this weekend. Have a nice lunch at Casa Tua and dinner. Happy fifth anniversary, honey. Tell that lovely husband of yours hello for me. Love you."

"I will and thanks. Talk to you later. Love you too." With that Lauren ended the call and headed back into her classroom. Richard was still there. "Sorry about that. Parents… can't live with them, can't live without them." Richard didn't do much; he just nodded as he picked up something on Lauren's desk. It was a small syringe.

"What's this?" Richard asked. Lauren's heart skipped a beat. She thought she had put that back in her purse. "Are you taking drugs?" he asked calmly.

"No… no I would never do that."  
"Then what is it, if it's not drugs?" he asked calmly again.

"They're fertility drugs. My husband and I have been trying for a baby for about four years. Nothing seems to work," Lauren's said taking the small syringe from her colleague. She quickly put it in her purse.

"I'm sorry," he said sympathetically.

"Yeah…" Lauren could feel tears forming in the corners of her eyes. "Listen Richard, I have to go. I'm meeting my husband for lunch. See you tomorrow?" He smiled and nodded his head. "Okay, see you tomorrow then. Bye." Lauren left Richard alone in her classroom.


	4. Chapter 4

Speed stepped out of the elevator, and into the reception area of the Miami-Dade Crime Lab. Nothing had come of the client list Eric had found in Felicia's house. The boyfriend checked out and so did Felicia's mother. The smudged prints Speed had found were a dead end too. The next step was to wait on Alexx's autopsy results.

In the meantime, Speed walked up to the front desk and asked Paula if she had any messages. "Hey Paula. Can I have my messages please?"

"Yeah. Sure thing Speed. Just let me find them." She searched the pile of messages until she found the ones that were Speed's. "Here you go. Your mother and father called, and your mother-in-law called twice… in the past half hour."

Speed chuckled. "My mother-in-law… gotta love her. Thanks Paula."

"You're welcome… oh and by the way, happy anniversary," Paula said with a smile. "Any plans tonight?"

Speed smiled. "Thanks, and yes I made plans tonight. But I'll have to tell you later or you can ask Calleigh, because my wife just walked in." He thanked Paula once more and made his way over to Lauren, who had just exited the elevator. "Hey babe," Speed said leaning in for a kiss.

"Hi back, handsome," Lauren said letting Speed kiss her.

Just then Alexx walked by. "Hey, you two love birds! Get a room!" she joked.

Lauren pulled away from Speed and said, "Hi Alexx."

"Hi baby," she said back as she gave Lauren a hug. "Happy anniversary."

"Thank you, Alexx," Lauren said hugging her back. Alexx was like a second mother to Lauren and Speed. She was always there whenever you needed her. "How is your family doing?"

"Oh, you know. The kids are great. Busy with sports and school work. Henry is doing great," Alexx said breaking the hug.

Speed put his hand around Lauren's waist and pulled her close to him and said with a smile, "Sorry to interrupt you two, but Lauren and I have lunch reservation at Casa Tua."

"Well, alright then. You kids go have fun. Call me, Lauren and we'll do lunch sometime, okay," Alexx said walking away.

"I will!"

Speed wrapped his arm around Lauren's waist and pulled her close to him. He whispered in her ear, "You ready, because the faster we eat the sooner we'll be able to head home for some afternoon fun." He planted a small kiss on the nape of Lauren's neck. It sent chills down her spine.

"Well, then we better get going." She kissed him back on his lips. Speed took a hold of Lauren's hand and led her outside.

* * *

The restaurant was almost empty when Speed and Lauren arrived at Casa Tua. They were quickly seated outside in the back of the restaurant. It was a beautiful afternoon. "Your server will be right with you," said the hostess, Brittany.

"Thank you," they both said as they sat down; Brittany placed the menus in front of them.

Speed and Lauren took a few moments to look through the lunch menu. "I'm so hungry I could eat everything on this menu," Lauren said.

Speed laughed. "So how was your first day back, babe?"

Lauren set down her menu and smiled. "It was really good. I missed all my kids, and I got to meet some news ones. I think I've got a good group this year."

"That's good. Did you all talk about what plays you're going to do this year?" Speed asked just as their server appeared.

"Hello, my name is Antonio, and I'll be your server this afternoon. What brings you two here?" he said cheerfully.

Lauren looked up at him and smiled. "It's my husband and I's anniversary."

"Oh! Well then happy anniversary. May I ask how long?" he asked cheerfully.

"Five amazing years, right babe," Lauren said taking a hold of Speed's hand and looking lovingly into his chocolate brown eyes.

"Definitely," he said with a big smile.

"Again, happy anniversary, and now what can I get you two love birds to drink?" Lauren had to laugh. Their waitress was one of the cheeriest servers she's ever come a crossed. She loved it.

"I think I'll just have a glass of ice water with a lemon," Lauren said. Speed said he would have the same as well. "Thanks Antonio." He went off to grab their drinks. "I just love friendly servers. They just make the dining experience so much better."

Speed didn't answer right away because he was looking to his right. There was a guy sitting alone staring at the two of them. The man's hair was slicked back and was the color of black tar. He had a handsome face, but his nose was slightly crooked; that was the man's only imperfection. The man gave Speed a funny feeling. It wasn't good.

"Uh, yeah definitely." Speed moved his chair closer to Lauren's and whispered in her ear. "I don't know if you've noticed, but the guy to my right is staring at us."

Lauren looked up and just as she was about to make eye contact with the man he quickly looked away, and began to study the menu in front of him. He looked oddly familiar. "He looks somewhat familiar, but then again I've met many different people during my life," she whispered back. This man looked like someone she had run into a couple times over the past two years.

"Excuse me." Both Lauren and Speed jumped. It was the man who had been staring at them just a moment ago. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to startle you," the dark haired man said.

"No, it's okay. Can we help you?" Lauren said with a laugh. Speed just looked at him, his uneasy feeling getting stronger. He didn't like this guy one bit.

"Are you the music and theater teacher at Miami-Dade High School?" the man asked.

"U-uh, yes I am. Why? Do you have a son or daughter that goes there?"

"No, no, no I'm actually the son of, Richard Dorfman." He held out his hand for Lauren to shake. She took it. His hand was soft and as smooth as a baby's skin; his nails looked nice and manicured. He smelled wonderful too.

"Oh!" Lauren said shocked. She never knew Richard had any children let alone thought he was married. He never wore a wedding ring. "I never knew he had a son. He never mentioned you, but then again he doesn't tell people much about himself and his family."

The man flashed a crooked smile. "Yeah. My father is a pretty private guy. Anyway I see you're busy with your anniversary dinner. I just wanted to come and say hi, and tell you my father speaks very highly of you. He also told me you have the most beautiful voice," he said coolly.

Lauren blushed. "Thank you."

"You're welcome. I'll be leaving you two in peace then. Good day."

Speed watched this man walk back into the restaurant. "He never told us his name," Lauren said.  
Speed turned back and looked at his wife and said, "I don't like him at all. I have a funny uneasy feeling."


	5. Chapter 5

Horatio sat in his office searching his computer. Something about this case wasn't sitting well with him. He felt like he'd seen these types of murders before. Horatio pulled up the police search database. He sat back in his chair and thought how to word his search. He typed: young women, twenties, slit throat, United States.

Over one hundred and fifty results popped up on his screen. Horatio needed more key words. He thought long and hard. Horatio changed United states to just New York and Miami. The results were down to fifty. This was still too many.

Horatio sat back in his chair, and thought back to the crime scene. Why did this case make him think of another case he had seen before? What was left at the scene? "The mask," Horatio said. Sitting up, he typed: young women, twenties, slit throat, New York, Miami, mask. Horatio hit enter. The computer started its search. Horatio waited.

A moment later, the results he had been looking for popped up. The year was 1989, and Horatio was just starting out in Miami when five women in their twenties were murdered. Their throats were slit and their vocal cords ripped out. The final element was the black masquerade mask that had been left at the scene. The killer had never been caught. The case was named, The Masquerade Killings. They had called him the Phantom of Miami.

Horatio printed as many pages as he could of the case. He needed to round up his team. The Phantom of Miami was back.

* * *

Eric and Calleigh made their way into the layout room. Horatio was waiting for him. "What's going on, H? You said you had something that would help this case out," Eric said holding the door open for Calleigh.

Horatio looked up. He was missing one CSI, Speed. "Yeah. I do. Where's Speed?"

"I don't know. I tried calling him but his phone went straight to voicemail. Maybe his battery died," Calleigh said shrugging her shoulders.

"Hold on. I think he mentioned earlier that he was going to lunch with, Lauren. An early anniversary celebration," Eric said with a smile. "That would explain the no answering his cell phone if you know what I mean."

Horatio gave Eric a look. "Alright, don't worry about it. I'll get a hold of him." He opened the file on The Masquerade Killings and placed it on the table. "I think we have a serial killer. When we were at the scene I felt like I had seen something like this before. I came back here and started researching, and I found what I was looking for. Back in 1989, five women in their twenties were murdered. Their throats were slit and their vocal cords ripped out. The final piece to the murders was a black masquerade mask," he explained.

"Exactly like Felicia Graham's murder," Calleigh said taking a look at the file. "I'm assuming he was never caught then?"

"They called him The Phantom of Miami. He left no trace of himself. It was like he didn't even exist," Horatio said grabbing his phone to see if Speed had left him a message. He hadn't.

"So you think this Phantom of Miami is back?" Eric asked looking at the case file over Calleigh's shoulder.

"I do, Eric. I do."

"So, how are we supposed to catch him if it's as if he doesn't even exist?" Calleigh asked closing the file. Eric took it. He wanted to get a better look at it.

"I don't know, Calleigh. We'll have to wait for Alexx. Felicia's body might give us some clues."

"I have a feeling this case isn't going to be an easy one to solve," Eric said setting the file back down on the table.

"No it's not, Eric. So let's start digging up as much information as we can, okay?"

"Sounds good," Calleigh said.

"We'll keep you updated, H," Eric said. With that, Eric and Calleigh left to room.

Horatio grabbed his cell phone and dialed Speed's home phone number.


End file.
